Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema Awards presents many awards in absentia

The independent filmmakers who spent a week showing off their films, documentaries and film shorts in picturesque Idyllwild were unable to attend a planned gala Awards Banquet because of the coronavirus, but they still received their awards Sunday, March 15.The banquet for the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema winners was to be held at Golden Era Studios in San Jacinto, but it was canceled immediately after the U.S. government declared the coronavirus a worldwide pandemic and asked all Americans to observe social distancing to stop the spread of the virus.Many independent filmmakers had gathered in Idyllwild for the annual weeklong event before various coronavirus-related travel restrictions were implemented, according to a IIFC news release.“Plans for the final dayâ